'No Superbowl' and 'Fargo'

The passage -- which was inevitable -- of the (ho hum) "controversial" right-to-work bill and the fast signing of it into law brings to mind a classic line from the Coen brothers dark comedy, 'Fargo."

Marge Gunderson -- that's Deputy Marge Gunderson, 9 months pregnant and tough and tender as a mama Grizzly -- has arrested a sociopath killer who has just ground his partner to mush in a wood chipper in the Minnesota woods, after killing an innocent, hysterical woman and slaughtering three other people.

In this scenario, the Indiana Democrats under the leadership of Patrick Bauer, speaker of the House, are the nut job (the sociopath). I'll even excuse the rest of the Dems and just give Bauer the starring role; he's a crazy man.

Gunderson is simply the voice of reason.

"So that was Mrs. Lundegaard on the floor in there. And I guess that was your accomplice in the wood chipper. And those three people in Brainerd.

"And for what? For a little bit of money. There's more to life than a little money, you know. Don't you know that? And here ya are, and it's a beautiful day. Well, I just don't understand it."

I don't understand it, either. From the get-go, the Dems were doomed to lose this fight, and lose they did --- on a large undignified messy scandalous scale, and all over money --well, OK, not a LITTLE bit of money, but a lot. Still, the fight was about money.

Spare me another debate on the merits of the issue, or the sanctity and integrity of unions or the wickedness of the Republican party -- just the facts, ma'am. The facts are the Dems never had a prayer to stop this measure.

Still, it was good theater. A favorite image was the photo in the New York Times a week or so ago, showing an isolated Rep. Ed DeLaney from Indy the lone Dem sitting all by himself on the floor, surrounded by a sea of empty chairs in the House. He had the ethic to come to work this session, unlike his comrades. So he got the picture op (and, I hope, votes in the next election).

Finally, this today from WIBC radio 93.1-FM: the union guys (many from Chicago) went on a march thru Super Bowl Village all the while chanting "No Super Bowl" (tho not terribly loudly or enthusiastically.)

A woman in from New York or some tough place was interviewed about this spectactle. Her money quote: "Whatcha got against the Super Bowl y'all?"

And seriously, do none of those union people have jobs? They must be on the union payroll, in order to be able to afford to travel here from God-knows-where, all over the state and beyond. Either that, or they really don't like to work.

So give someone else that right. Done.

Comments

Wilson46201 [unverified] said:

We saw that Guild demonstration outside the Star offices too and really smart folk wondered "Don't those Guild goons have jobs?" Those musta been AFL-CIO employees outside acting like disgruntled newsies...Decent folk volunteer for churches and charities, never for their union, dontcha know?

dammit Ruth, you're sounding like a penny-ante Abdul recycling stenography from the CofC

2012-02-02 16:32:41

ruthholl [Member] said:

Oh, come on, Wilson. Apples to oranges. The Guild is not a closed shop, which is why it has to be scrappy. The issues on the negotiating table at 307 N. Penn are about workers being so disenfranchised by Gannett that some are on food stamps; they've gotten no breaks, zip.The big unions have dragged down a lot of money, and Dems are on the receiving end of their largesse. The Guild doesn't have the bucks that these mammoth unions do.If it makes you feel better, I'd love to see the hotel workers get unionized. They are the true underdogs in this city.Sometimes it's just not all black and white. Bauer did a disservice to his cause and he made a mockery of work -- refusing to come to the table, holing up in that Illinois motel in the hot tubs. And, again, for what? You and I both know that some of the unions who showed up to protest were in fact receiving money from their handlers for staging demonstrations. It's just not as pure and simple as you indicate.Let's see how the voters treat legislators who refused to do their jobs. That's where the cancer gnaws.

2012-02-02 18:24:16

Wilson46201 [unverified] said:

the quorum requirement is a long-established Constitutional feature of the Legislature used for many years by both parties to be used in extreme situations. The legislators that used it recently were exercising their best judgment as how to perform their elected duties. The current partisan imbalance in the Statehouse dictated extreme defensive measures by the Democrats. It's been a feature of the Indiana Constitution since 1851 !

Now, back to those paid union goons and stooges outside the Star's offices -- see how easy it is to casually throw around charges without facts?

2012-02-02 19:08:46

Wilson46201 [unverified] said:

and who are the mysterious "handlers" orchestrating the union protests? Gary Welsh would inform you it's shadowy Muslim terrorists. Kremlin agents? The Bilderbergers? George Soros?

2012-02-02 19:31:01

hendy [Member] said:

It is a sad day in Indiana: their legislature had doomed their unions. They have decimated public schools. They have squirreled away funds and hidden them from the public so as to knife the budgets.

The lady of social justice is at her knee, wounded deeply. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and we're building bridges on it, too.

Welcome to McJob Indiana. Surrender your IQ at the borders. All hail Alabama, our new ideological model, along with the theocrats, and the reverends. Fie on you that cannot live by Leviticus, for you are doomed by the four horsemen of our Apocalypse!

2012-02-02 20:48:30

Whitebeard [unverified] said:

I've got a big tumor in my left shoulder (non-malignant at least at this point) that makes it very painful for me to type.

Thank you Hendy. And also to Wilson. What you wrote saved me a lot of typing.

2012-02-03 12:55:52

whosear [Member] said:

After spreading around the manure produced by both sides of this issue, it is not the issue that it once was. From the 50's - 80's it was important when manufacturing was unionized, but as it has diminished greatly, the strong unions will not be hurt. It does seem to make union organizing more difficult though. Amazon.com & the hotel industry will have a harder time organizing as a many tactics can be used against union members such as enticing them not to join or bringing in replacement workers.

I doubt we'll see a slew of Colts leave the NFL Players Union. Too easy to take care of scabs there.